Editor’s Note: With CGC Earl Cunningham getting commissioned on Monday, Aug. 11, we wondered what it feels like to be part of the ship’s first crew. So we called the ship, up in Kodiak, Alaska, to chat with commanding officer LT Frederick Scott. The conversation has been edited for length.
Can you tell us a bit about what’s led up to the commissioning?
LT Scott: Most of the crew and I got orders to Kodiak a year ago. We spent seven weeks down in Lockport, LA, receiving training from the shipbuilder. We then spent seven weeks in Key West, FL where we actually accepted the cutter and did training with the Coast Guard to get familiar with the ship, and get ready to sail it home. And then we spent seven weeks sailing home from Key West. So about 150 days to 200 days away from home port for most of the crew. So all that to say, yes, we’re very excited to officially bring it into the service on Monday, get to work and stand the watch.
That’s a long stretch of time away from home, considering the cutter hasn’t even been officially commissioned yet.
LT Scott: You definitely miss a lot of happy things at home. Some sad things. Between the entire crew, we lost family members while we were away. We had two members get engaged. Someone missed the first steps of their child. Some were lucky to have family come and visit.
But all the FRCs are named after Coast Guard enlisted heroes, like Earl Cunningham, who made the ultimate sacrifice to save someone else. And while we absolutely went through a lot, it doesn't compare to what our ship’s namesake did. It's something that constantly comes up among the crew.
Earl Cunningham passed away during a winter storm in Michigan and we keep seeing these little, you know, call it “connections from up above.” When we were in Louisiana, the state received its record blizzard of all time. They got about a foot of snow while we were down there. “We said, ‘Yep, that's Earl Cunningham letting us know he’s watching.’” (READ: Here’s a great account of boatswain’s mate Earl Cunningham’s service to the country.)
It sounds like the entire crew feels a special connection to the cutter’s namesake.
LT Scott: Part of that is we've been able to get really close with Cunningham's descendants. My first conversation with Earl's granddaughter, Penney Helmer, took place as I was getting ready to PCS up to Alaska; she shared where Earl Cunningham was laid to rest. So I was able to stop at Earl Cunningham's gravesite on our drive through Michigan. My wife and I were able to plant a flag at his gravesite and pay our respects on our way.
Really, everybody in the crew, they've gotten to know the family. They came down to the shipyard in Louisiana. They came and visited us in Key West, FL, when we accepted the vessel from the shipyard. Both his granddaughters will serve as the sponsor and the long glass presenter for the ship. [Editor’s note: In traditional commissioning ceremonies, a long glass presenter presents a "long glass" telescope to the crew, which signifies the officer of the deck's authority on the ship and helps set up the vessel's first watch while the ship’s sponsor gives the official order to “bring the ship to life”]
His great-great grandson was just born a few weeks ago, and will be here for the commissioning. We’ll actually be baptizing the baby on board the cutter! Per nautical tradition, his name will be inscribed in the ship's bell and when the cutter gets decommissioned, that bell will be returned to the first child who was baptized from water drawn from the bell. So the bell will go back to the Cunningham family, which is pretty special.
The EARL CUNNINGHAM is taking over the watch from Alaska’s 110s, the Island Class patrol boats. Can you help us understand how the FRCs help advance America’s priorities?
LT Scott: There's a lot changing with the Coast Guard right now, but that fundamental search and rescue mission is not going to change. It’s our bread and butter. Those 110s were also doing fisheries regulations and securing the borders and the maritime approaches to Alaska
and the Pacific Northwest. These missions will now be conducted by fast response cutters. And I'd say we have a renewed focus, you know, as part of Force Design 2028, really honing in on our missions and what we owe the American public in doing so. Now we have the assets to do so.
We're only 44 feet longer than the 110s, but we are incredibly more capable. We have an enhanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance suit, and a stern launch recovery system that lets us launch our over-the-horizon boat safely and quickly – whether it's a law enforcement boarding or a search and rescue emergency.
Another thing that's great about the FRC is the extended endurance that we have on board. We have a range of about 2500 nautical miles. We could probably go even a little further, depending on how we control our speed and our fuel consumption. So that gives us the ability to go far, to patrol long, and preserve our borders – to make sure that everybody's secure no matter what they're doing as they approach or depart from U.S. waters.
I think Earl Cunningham would approve of the FRC’s mission in Alaska.
LT Scott: We're the 59th FRC and every single one is named for an enlisted hero. Earl Cunningham was a soldier first in the Army and then went on and served in the Coast Guard. So right away that kind of sentiment of endless service has been really important to us.
The motto that we chose as a crew is, “If not us, then who?” It kind of comes from Earl's fateful night where he gave his life in pursuit of saving another. If it wasn't for him, then a couple fishermen may not have made it home that day.
And that's kind of the way that we look at our job, especially out here in the austere environment of Alaska. In the last frontier, if not us on board the Earl Cunningham and our other sister ships, then who? Among the crew, we're really excited to continue to preserve his legacy.